The postings of a customs lawyer in Chicago on the state of customs law and international trade law. Important Disclaimer: None of this is legal advice, don't act on it. Don't ascribe these statements to my law firm, its partners or clients. Don't steal from my blog. I wrote it, I own it. But, feel free to link to me. Also, under the rules regulating speech by attorneys, this blog may be construed as lawyer advertising. I am the sole party responsible for the content.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

That's a Trebuchet

It's been a while since I blogged about a simple drug smuggling scheme. Generally, I am happy to report, I work with commercial importers. Only rarely have I had to call in a criminal lawyer for help. Still, this is a border issue, and it counts as amusing, at least to me.

Various news outlets are reporting that Mexican drug smugglers had been attempting to use a catapult to hurl marijuana across the border. Clearly, this is the work of a geek smuggler (and I mean that in a positive sense). But, looking at the poor video, it looks like the gizmo was actually a trebuchet, which is much more elegant than a simple catapult. A trebuchet is a "siege engine" used until the 13th Century to toss heavy, burning, or infected things at one's opposition. Apparently, a trebuchet is far more accurate than a catapult. The difference between the two being, at least as I understand it, that the trebuchet has a loose rope-link sling rather than a fixed basket for the projectile. This causes the sling to whip around, adding significant momentum, much like a snapped towel or quality golf swing. Also, most trebuchet were powered by counterweights rather than the spring of the main member (imaging a bunch of Medieval peasants pulling a tree trunk back and you get the idea). The image below shows the benefit of the trebuchet design.

I have seen a trebuchet used to toss pumpkins. And, there is a guy at the Renaissance Faire in Bristol, Wisonsin (generally my image of Hell) named Doktor Kaboom, who uses one to toss eggs to great amusement. Clearly, with the advent of trebuchet smuggling, the device is experiencing its own renaissance of a sort.